A MERSEY school has been praised by the government – for blindfolding pupils.

The unorthodox practice at Orrets Meadow in Moreton was met with gushing praise by education inspectorate Ofsted who awarded the special school its top rating of outstanding.

Working in pairs, 10 and 11-year-olds at the school have taken it in turns to blindfold each other as part of a look at World War II.

Walking through the school hall, the blindfolded children are asked to imagine the scene of a bombed-out street, with their classmate describing the scene of devastation before them.

And the practice is cited by Ofsted as “a very good example of creative teaching”, with the inspector adding the “teacher made excellent use of space to support learning”.

Today deputy headteacher at the school Janet Sutcliffe, who oversaw the project, stressed the school was careful that the unusual role play “avoided bloodshed”.

But the blindfold sessions help pupils – many of whom have dyslexia – to “concentrate on other senses”, think about language use and “communicate ideas”.

She said: “They imagine they are walking through a blitzed street and are encouraged to imagine the scene and picture the rubble, bombed out homes and the sad personal touches such as burned photographs, broken windows, burned prams.

“The other child will tell them to be careful as they step over rubble.”

The children have used the experience to write up a story for a joint history and literacy project.

“Ofsted were impressed with it (the blindfold project).

“They particularly commented that they liked what they felt was the spirituality in it and how the pupils were really getting emotionally involved,” Mrs Sutcliffe added.

The scheme was introduced during the tenure of recently retired headteacher Sandra Blythe.

But after Ofsted’s endorsement, the blindfolds will almost certainly be used again.

On average, pupils stay at the school for approximately two years before returning to mainstream education while others attend in the morning and return to their main school in the afternoon.

And awarding the school its second consecutive top rating, Ofsted’s report states: “The curriculum is outstanding.

“Pupils love the vast array of exciting and innovative learning chances which are precisely matched to their needs.”

It also notes the high regard parents have for the school and adds: “Progress is excellent because the quality of teaching and learning is outstanding.

“Teachers develop strong relationships with pupils remarkably quickly and so get the very best out of them.”